Remote control device, remote control method, and remote-controllable device

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and a method of remote control which can enable real time operation of a device in home from a terminal device at remote location through a network are provided. A first server communicates with a terminal device through the Internet and generates device control data for controlling the device. A second server communicates with the device in a predetermined manner to acquire and store a specific address of the device, generates transmission data for transmission of the received device control data from the first server to the device based on the specific address, and transmits the transmission data to the device. This allows real time control of the device from the terminal device through the network to be realized.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a remote control technique whichenables an external terminal device to control an in-home device at aremote location through the Internet.

BACKGROUND ART

A technique for controlling in-home devices from a remote terminalthrough the Internet has been conventionally developed. There is known,for example, a method for displaying an electronic program guide (EPG)stored in a server on a WEB screen, thereby allowing a user to freelyselect and program using a terminal device such as a personal computer(PC) or a cellular telephone (see, for example, Japanese PatentLaid-Open Publication No. 2001-145140).

A conventional example of a remote control method for controlling atarget device from an external device through the Internet will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, an application server 80, a mail server 90, anddevices 91 a, 91 b and 91 c are connected to one another through theInternet 100.

A terminal device 10 is a terminal device such as a PC or a cellulartelephone which enables a user to view a WEB screen through theInternet. The server 90 is a mail server held by a provider to which theuser generally subscribes. The devices 91 a, 91 b and 91 c are devicesoperable to perform timer recording.

The application server 80 includes means for storing program data forperforming a timer recording, and includes functions to generate timerrecording data while referring to the stored program data based on auser's operation, and to transmit this timer recording data as anelectronic mail (e-mail).

The mail server 90 has functions to receive an e-mail transmitted fromone user, to store the received e-mail, and to send the e-mail to theother user. The mail server 90 is often referred to as “mail box”.

Each device 91 a, . . . has functions to receive the e-mail from themail server 90, to detect the timer recording data from the receivede-mail to store the detected timer recording data. Each device 91 a, . .. also has functions to determine whether the timer recording data isstored, and to execute and manage the timer recording.

When receiving, for example, an instruction for timer recording from theterminal device 10 based on the user's operation, the application server80 generates an e-mail including the timer recording data and transmitsthe e-mail to the mail server 90 of each provider to which the usersubscribes. The device 91 a, . . . regularly checks whether thecorresponding provider receives the e-mail, thereby extracting the timerrecording data from the received e-mail to control a timer recordingoperation based on the timer recording data. This operation will now bedescribed specifically.

When receiving a display request based on the user's operation from theterminal device 10, the application server 80 converts the program datainto data in an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) format so that usercan browse the stored program data on the WEB screen and a display onwhich the user can easily operate can be provided. The applicationserver 80 then transmits the HTML format data to the terminal device 10.The user can select a program while viewing a content displayed by theterminal device 10. Data indicating a user's selected item istransmitted to the application server 80 which then analyzes the data.If detecting that the data is the timer recording instruction, theapplication server 80 generates timer recording data. That is, theapplication server 80 generates the timer recording data while referringto data indicating the user's selected item and to the stored programdata. This timer recording data normally includes data such as arecording start time, a recording end time, and a channel number. Theapplication server 80 converts the timer recording data into data in ane-mail format, and transmits the data in e-mail format to a mail address(mail server 90) designated by the user. The mail server 90 stores thereceived e-mail. The device 91 a receives the e-mail from the mailserver 90 at an arbitrary timing, extracts the timer recording data fromthe received e-mail, and controls a timer recording operation based onthe timer recording data.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

An increase in the number of e-mail users and an increase in the numberof unwanted mail and the like cause it often take long time sincesending an e-mail until receiving the e-mail. In an extreme case, thee-mail arrives half a day later. As a result, a timer recording with thee-mail causes a disadvantage that a desired time when the timerrecording is conducted passes and the timer recording operation cannotbe executed. In addition, a device status can not be known at real time.For this reason, it is disadvantageously impossible for a system to dealwith a checking as to whether the timer recording is executed andchanging of a timer recording which has been already input when timerrecordings are filled.

The present invention has been achieved to solve the conventionalproblems. It is an object of the present invention to provide anoperation environment which exhibits a real time performance and isclose to the state in which a device can be operated by a remotecontroller, in remote control of the device through a network.

Means for Solving Problems

In order to solve the problems, the present invention provides a secondserver which is appropriately notified of an address or an device statusfrom a remote-controlled device and manages the notified address, andlinks the operation of the second server with that of a first serverwhich realizes various additional functions for timer recordinginformation and the like, thereby resulting in a remote controlenvironment which exhibits a real time performance.

A remote controller according to the present invention is a remotecontroller which enables a terminal device to control a device through anetwork. The remote controller includes a first server operable tocommunicate with the terminal device through the network, and generatedevice control data for controlling the device based on a request fromthe terminal device, and a second server operable to acquire and store alatest address of the device on the network by communicating with thedevice at predetermined time intervals. The second server receives thedevice control data from the first server, generates first transmissiondata including the device control data, and transmits the firsttransmission data to the device.

The first server may include data storage operable to store controlinformation that is information necessary to control an operation of thedevice, display data generator operable to generate display data thatallows the terminal device to display the control information, andcontrol data generator operable to generate the device control data inresponse to a request from the terminal device. The second server mayinclude address storage operable to store an address of the device onthe network, address generator operable to generate an address of thedevice controlled according to the device control data with reference tothe stored address and based on the device control data received fromthe first server, and transmission data generator operable to generatethe first transmission data including the address of the device and thedevice control data to the device, and transmit the first transmissiondata to the device. The device may include section operable to extractthe device control data from the first transmission data, and sectionoperable to control the operation of the device based on the extractedthe device control data.

The device may include section operable to detect a status of a targetto be controlled in the device, and section operable to generate secondtransmission data including status information that is information onthe detected operating status, and transmit the second transmission datato the second server. The second server may include section operable toextract the status information from the second transmission datareceived from the device, and section operable to generate thirdtransmission data including the extracted status information, andtransmit the third transmission data to the first server. The firstserver may include section operable to extract the status informationfrom the third transmission data received from the second server, andgenerate the display data using the extracted status information.

When the device is a video recording and reproducing apparatus, thedevice control data may be information about programs, and be timerrecording data for allowing timer recording to be conducted for adesignated program at a designated time in accordance with the requestfrom the terminal.

When the device is a temperature controlling apparatus, the devicecontrol data may be data for controlling temperature, and be data forcontrolling temperature of the temperature controlling apparatus.

Functions into which a function of the first server and a function ofthe second server are integrated can be provided by three or moreservers.

Functions into which a function of the first server and a function ofthe second server are integrated can be provided by one server.

A remote control method according to the present invention is a remotecontrol method for enabling a terminal device to control a devicethrough a network. The method includes acquiring and storing a latestaddress of the device on the network by communicating with the device atpredetermined time intervals, and communicating with the terminal devicethrough the network, generating device control data for controlling thedevice based on a request from the terminal device, generating firsttransmission data including the device control data, and transmittingthe first transmission data to the device.

Advantageous Effects over Prior Art

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a realtime performance in controlling the device to be controlled from theterminal device at a remote location through the network and indisplaying a status of the controlled device in response to a requestfrom the terminal device. That is, according to the present invention, aremote control environment which provides the real time operation closeto an operation of the device (remote-controlled device) with a remotecontroller from the terminal device, in operation from the deviceterminal or a status display from the device. Thus it is possible forthe remote terminal device to check whether a desired control such astimer recording is executed. Further, in dealing with timer recordinginformation, it is possible to change a timer recording setting whichhas been input once when timer recording settings fill.

Further, if the control data is information that includes EPG(Electronic Program Guide) timer recording, the present invention can beapplied to a so-called video recording and reproducing device. If thecontrol data is temperature setting information, the present inventioncan be applied to a temperature controlling apparatus such as an airconditioner. In addition, when the number of controlled devicesincreases or a load on the server increases, the load may beappropriately share among a plurality of servers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram which shows an example of a configuration ofa remote control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 1B is an explanatory view which explains a connection relationshipamong elements of the remote control system in light of a data flow.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram which shows a configuration of a terminaldevice.

FIG. 2B is an explanatory view which explains an example of a screendisplayed for controlling an operation of a device (DVD recorder) fromthe terminal device (cellular telephone).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram which shows a configuration of an applicationserver.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram which shows a configuration of a devicemanagement server.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram which shows a configuration of aremote-controlled device such as a video recording and reproducingapparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view which explains a conventional method forremotely controlling an device from an external device through theInternet.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of a remote control system according to the presentinvention will be described hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawing. The remote control system to be describedhereinafter can enable a terminal at a remote location to control anoperation of a controlled device through a network.

FIG. 1A shows an example of a configuration of the remote control systemaccording to the present invention. FIG. 1B is an explanatory view for aconnection relationship among the respective elements of the remotecontrol system in light of a data flow.

Referring, to FIG. 1A, a terminal device 10 is a terminal deviceoperable to display a WEB screen on the Internet 100 such as a PC or acellular telephone. Devices 50 a, 50 b, and 50 c are devices(remote-controlled devices) which are remotely controlled through theInternet 100. An application server (a first server) 20 is a dedicatedserver provided in a provider which provides a service for timerrecording of programs. The application server 20 generates screen datato be displayed on the terminal device 10, generates control data basedon an operation on the terminal, performs an authentication processing,and does other things. A device management server (a second serer) 30 isa server which manages respective network addresses of the devices 50 a,50 b, and 50 c connected to the server 30 through the Internet 100 whichare dynamically changed.

The devices 50 a, 50 b, and 50 c may be present in the same house or indifferent houses (that is, may be managed by different users). If thedevices 50 a, 50 b, and 50 c are located in the same house, they may beconnected to one another through a local area network and furtherconnected to the Internet 100 through a router or a modem. The device 50a, 50 b or 50 c contains, for example, electric apparatus including avideo recording and reproducing apparatus such as a DVD recorder and atemperature controlling apparatus such as an air conditioner or arefrigerator.

FIG. 2A shows a configuration of the terminal device 10. As shown inFIG. 2A, the terminal device 10 includes a WEB display section 11 whichdisplays a WEB screen image and a communication controller 12 forconnecting the terminal device 10 to the Internet 100. FIG. 2B is anexplanatory view for a display of the WEB display section 11 when theoperation of the device (DVD recorder) is controlled from the terminaldevice (cellular telephone) 10. By user's operating the terminal device10 while viewing the display of the WEB display section 11, displayscreens 15, 15 a, 15 b and 15 c for controlling the device aredisplayed.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the application server 20. In FIG. 3,the application server 20 includes a communication controller 21 forconnecting the application serer 20 to the Internet 100, a WEBcontroller 22 which provides the WEB screen image displayed on theterminal device 10, and a device data storage 23 which stores data forcontrolling the device 50 a, . . . . The application server 20 alsoincludes an device status detector 24 which detects information on astatus of each device and which outputs the information to the WEBcontroller 22, a command analyzer 25 which analyzes a command receivedby the communication controller 21, a control data generator 26 whichgenerates device control data based on a command transmitted based on auser's operation while referring to the device data storage 23, and acommunication controller 27 which communicates with the devicemanagement server 30.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the device management server 30. Thedevice management server 30 includes a communication controller 31 whichcommunicates with the application server 20, a command analyzer 32 whichanalyzes a command received by the communication controller 31, adestination address generator 33 which detects an address specific toeach device, and a transmission data generator 34. The device managementserver 30 also includes a communication controller 35 which communicateswith the respective devices 50 a, . . . through the Internet 100, areceived data analyzer 36 which analyzes the command received by thecommunication controller 35, an address detector 37 which detects theaddress specific to each of the devices 50 a, . . . from the receivedcommand, a device status detector 38 which detects information on astatus of each of the devices 50 a, . . . from the received command, anaddress storage 39 which temporarily stores the address specific to eachof the devices 50 a, . . . , and a transmission data generator 40.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of the device 50 a such as a videorecording and reproducing apparatus which is remotely controlled. Thedevices 50 b and 50 c are equal in configuration to the device 50 a. Thedevice 50 a includes a communication controller 51, a command analyzer52 which analyzes a command received by the communication controller 51,a control data detector 53 which detects control data from the receivedcommand, and a device controller 54 which specifically controls acontrol target in the device 50 a based on the control data. The device50 a further includes an device status detector 55 which detects astatus of the control target in the device (an device status) based oninformation from the device controller 54, a transmission timinggenerator 56 which measures an appropriate time interval, an addressnotification data generator 57 which generates data for notifying thedevice management server 30 of an address, and a transmission datagenerator 58.

The respective communication controllers of the servers 20 and 30 andthe devices 50 a, . . . are sections that provide functions forconnecting the corresponding servers or devices to the Internet 100.Many cases are assumed for the connection of the devices 50 a, . . . tothe Internet 100 such as a case of using a telephone line, a case ofusing wireless communication, a case of using a cable TV line, and acase of using an optical fiber cable.

In this embodiment, for convenience of description, each server 20 or 30includes a plurality of communication controllers. However, thecommunication controllers may be integrated into one controller.

Operations of the remote control system according to the presentinvention will be described in detail.

First, a method executed by the device management serer 30 for managinga specific address of each device 50 a, . . . on the network will bedescribed.

The transmission timing generator 56 of the device 50 a generates anarbitrary timing so as to transmit its own address (e.g., an IP address)stored in a predetermined storage area to the device management server30. Based on this timing command, the address notification datagenerator 57 of the device 50 a generates packet data according to anHTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), UDP (User Datagram-Protocol), orthe like. The transmission data generator 58 transmits the packet datato the device management server 30 through the communication controller51 after applying a necessary processing such as encryption toinformation such as the device address.

The device management server 30 receives the data from the device 50 athrough the communication controller 35, and causes the received dataanalyzer 36 to decode the received data and thus to transmit the decodeddata to the address detector 37. The address detector 37 analyzes thedata transmitted from the device 50 a, and stores a source address inthe address storage 39 as the device address.

That is, since the packet data is transmitted from the device 50 a tothe device management server 20 at a predetermined timing, the devicemanagement server 20 can update the device address synchronously withthe transmission of the packet data. In other words, even if thespecific address of the device 50 a on the Internet 100 dynamicallychanges, the device management server 20 can appropriately update theaddress and thus can always manage the latest address of the device 50 a(see Japanese Patent No. 3445986).

The network-specific address of the device 50 a, . . . connected to theInternet 100 is thus stored in the address storage 39.

The address storage 39 needs to manage a device number (also referred toas “device ID”) for identifying the device itself and a port numberwhile associating them with the device address of the device on theInternet 100. Management of the device number and the port number aswell as the network-specific device address allows one device to beidentified uniquely, even if a plurality of devices are present in onehouse.

Next, a processing for transmitting the device control data from theterminal device 10 to the device 50 a (or the device 50 b or 50 c) willbe described.

When a display request is transmitted from the terminal device 10 to theapplication server 20, the application server 20 causes the WEBcontroller 22 to convert the data for controlling the device stored inthe device data storage 23 into data in HTML format or the like so thatthe user can view the data on the WEB screen of the terminal device 10or a screen image for providing user's easy operation on the screen ismade, and then transmits the data in HTML-format or the like to theterminal device 10 through the communication controller 21. The data forcontrolling the device includes data regarding a timer recording ofvideo if the device 50 is a video recording and reproducing device, orincludes data regarding a temperature setting if the device 50 is atemperature controlling apparatus. The data for controlling the deviceincludes data regarding imaging control such as zooming and panning ifthe device 50 is an imaging device. As can be seen, it suffices that thedata for controlling the device is data depending on the control target.

When receiving data in HTML-format or the like from the applicationserver 20, the terminal device 10 displays the data by the WEB displaysection 11. The user operates the terminal device 10 while viewing adisplayed content, and selects control items to the device 50 a. Dataindicating the user's selected control item is transmitted to theapplication server 20 through the communication controller 12 of theterminal device 10.

When receiving the data through the communication controller 21, theapplication server 20 causes the command analyzer 25 to analyze thereceived data and to detect whether the data is a control instructionfor the device. If detecting that the received data is the controlinstruction for the device, the command analyzer 25 instructs thecontrol data generator 26 to generate the device control data. Thecontrol data generator 26 generates the device control data withreference to the data that indicates the user's selected item and thedata stored in the device data storage 23, and transmits the generateddata to the device management server 30 through the communicationcontroller 27.

The device management server 30 receives the data through thecommunication controller 31, and causes the command analyzer 32 toanalyze the received data. If it is determined that the received data isthe device control data, the device management server 30 instructs thedestination address generator 33 to generates an address. Thedestination address generator 33 reads the specific address of a targetdevice from the address storage 39, and generates a destination address.The transmission data generator 34 transmits the destination addresstogether with the device control data to the device 50 a through thecommunication controller 35.

The device 50 a receives the data through the communication controller51, and causes the command analyzer 52 to analyze the received data andto detect whether the received data includes the device control data. Ifit is detected that the received data includes the device control data,the control data detector 53 extracts the device control data from thereceived data. This device control data is transmitted to the devicecontroller 54, and the device 50 a is controlled based on it.

Thereafter, information on a status of the device 50 a is transmittedfrom the device 50 a to the terminal device 10 through the devicemanagement server 30. The status of the device 50 a (status of a targetto be controlled) is detected by the device status detector 55. Thetransmission data generator 58 converts the device status intotransmission data and transmits the data to the device management server30 through the communication controller 51 every time the device statusdetector 55 detects the change in the device status or at predeterminedintervals.

The device status (that is, information on the device status) includesan operating status of the device 50 a. The operating status of thedevice 50 a includes, for example, a status of the device regarding atimer recording or the like if the device 50 a is a video recording andreproducing apparatus, includes a temperature status if the device 50 ais a temperature controlling apparatus, or includes an imaged picture ifthe device 50 a is an imaging device. As can be seen, it suffices thatthe information on the device status is information depending on thecontrol target.

The device management server 30 receives the data through thecommunication controller 35. The received data analyzer 36 analyzes thereceived data and determines whether the received data includes statusdata. If the received data includes the status data, the device statusdetector 38 extracts the status data of the device, and the transmissiondata generator 40 converts the status data into transmission data again.The transmission data is transmitted to the application server 20through the communication controller 31.

The application server 20 receives the data through the communicationcontroller 27, causes the device status detector 24 to extract thedevice status data, and causes the WEB controller 22 to convert theextracted device status data into HTML-format data for displaying thedevice status. This HTML-format data is transmitted to the terminaldevice 10 and displayed by thereon. The user can browse the data throughthe WEB display section 11 of the terminal device 10.

As described, according to this embodiment, provided is the devicemanagement server 30 which is appropriately notified of the address orthe device status from the device 50 a or the like which is theremote-controlled device, and which manages the notified information.This device management server 30 is caused to operate in conjunctionwith the application server 20 which manages and generates the devicecontrol data. Thus, it is possible to control the devices 50 a, . . .remotely at real time from the terminal device 10.

In the above description, if the device (remote-controlled device) isassumed as a video recording and reproducing apparatus, the devicecontrol data stored, generated, and transmitted by the applicationserver 20 includes timer recording data of programs. If the device(remote-controlled device) is assumed as the temperature controllingdevice such as the air conditioner, the data for device control stored,generated, and transmitted by the application server 20 includes datafor controlling temperature.

In the embodiment, the system is arranged to include two servers, i.e.,the application server 20 and the application management server 30.Alternatively, these functions may be integrated and packaged into oneserver. Further, these functions may be distributed and packaged intothree or more servers.

In the description, one example in which the servers 20 and 30, thedevices 50 a, . . . and the terminal device 10 communicate with oneanother through the Internet. Alternatively, a network of a type otherthan the Internet may be employed.

It is understood that, in the description, the servers 20 and 30, thedevices 50 a, . . . , and the terminal device 10 can be achieved by acomputer, and the respective functions can be realized by executingpredetermined programs.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful for a remote control system whichcontrols in-home devices from a terminal at a remote location throughthe Internet.

The present invention has been described while referring to the specificembodiment. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that many otherchanges and modifications and other applications can be made. Therefore,the present invention is not limited to the specific disclosure givenherein but can be limited only to appended claims.

1. A remote controller system which enables a terminal device to controla device through a network, comprising: a first server operable tocommunicate with the terminal device through the network, and generatedevice control data for controlling the device based on a request fromthe terminal device; and a second server operable to acquire and store alatest ip address of the device on the network by communicating with thedevice at predetermined time intervals, the second server receiving thedevice control data from the first server, generating first transmissiondata including the device control data, and transmitting the firsttransmission data to the device in accordance with the stored latest ipaddress of the device.
 2. The remote controller system according toclaim 1, wherein the first server comprises: a data storage operable tostore control information that is information necessary to control anoperation of the device; a display data generator operable to generatedisplay data that allows the terminal device to display the controlinformation; and a control data generator operable to generate thedevice control data in response to a request from the terminal device,the second server comprises: an address storage operable to store an ipaddress of the device on the network; an address generator operable togenerate an ip address of the device controlled according to the devicecontrol data with reference to the stored ip address, based on thedevice control data received from the first server; and a transmissiondata generator operable to generate the first transmission dataincluding the ip address of the device and the device control data tothe device, and transmit the first transmission data to the device; andthe device comprises: a section operable to extract the device controldata from the first transmission data; and a section operable to controlthe operation of the device based on the extracted data for devicecontrol.
 3. The remote controller system according to claim 1, whereinthe device comprises: a section operable to detect a status of a targetto be controlled in the device; and a section operable to generatesecond transmission data including status information that isinformation on the detected operating status, and transmit the secondtransmission data to the second server, the second server comprises: asection operable to extract the status information from the secondtransmission data received from the device; and a section operable togenerate third transmission data including the extracted statusinformation, and transmit the third transmission data to the firstserver, and the first server comprises a section operable to extract thestatus information from the third transmission data received from thesecond server, and generate the display data using the extracted statusinformation.
 4. The remote controller system according to claim 1,wherein the device is a video recording and reproducing apparatus, andthe device control data is information about programs, and is timerrecording data for allowing timer recording to be conducted for adesignated program at a designated time in accordance with the requestfrom the terminal.
 5. The remote controller system according to claim 1,wherein the device is a temperature controlling apparatus, and thedevice control data is data for controlling a temperature of thetemperature controlling apparatus.
 6. The remote controller systemaccording to claim 1, wherein functions into which a function of thefirst server and a function of the second server are integrated areprovided by at least three servers.
 7. A remote control system methodfor enabling a terminal device to control a device through a network,the method comprising: using a first server to acquire and store alatest ip address of the device on the network by communicating with thedevice at predetermined time intervals; and using a second server tocommunicate with the terminal device through the network, generatedevice control data for controlling the device based on a request fromthe terminal device, generate first transmission data including thedevice control data, and transmit the first transmission data to thedevice in accordance with the stored latest ip address of the device. 8.The remote control system method according to claim 7, comprising:storing control information that is information necessary to control anoperation of the device, and generating display data for allowing theterminal device to display the control information; generating thedevice control data in response to a request from the terminal device,and generating an ip address of the device controlled by the devicecontrol data with reference to the stored ip address and based on thedevice control data; generating the first transmission data includingthe ip address of the device and the device control data, andtransmitting the first transmission data to the device; and controllingthe operation of the device based on the device control data included inthe first transmission data.
 9. The remote control system methodaccording to claim 7, further comprising detecting an operating statusof the device, receiving the transmission data including statusinformation that is information on the detected operating status of thedevice from the device, extracting the status information from thetransmission data thus received, and generating the display data usingthe extracted status information.
 10. The remote control system methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the device is a video recording andreproducing apparatus, and the device control data is information aboutprograms.
 11. The remote control system method according to claim 7,wherein the device is a temperature controlling apparatus, and thedevice control data is information for designating a temperature.
 12. Aremote-controlled device controlled by the remote control system methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the device control data is informationabout programs.
 13. A remote-controlled device controlled by the remotecontrol system method according to claim 7, wherein the device controldata is information for designating a temperature.